Keurbooms River

River in the Western Cape, South Africa
Keurbooms River is located in South Africa
Keurbooms River
Location of the Keurbooms River mouth
EtymologyAfter the keurboom trees (genus Virgilia in Afrikaans)LocationCountrySouth AfricaProvinceWestern Cape ProvincePhysical characteristicsSourceSpitskop • locationOuteniqua Mountains • elevation1,000 m (3,300 ft) MouthIndian Ocean
 • location
Near Plettenberg Bay
 • coordinates
34°01′37″S 23°23′42″E / 34.02694°S 23.39500°E / -34.02694; 23.39500
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)Length85 km (53 mi)Basin size1,080 km2 (420 sq mi)

The Keurbooms River (Afrikaans: Keurboomsrivier) is a river in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. The river has its sources south of Uniondale in the Langkloof and flows in a roughly southeastern direction. It passes De Vlugt and the Prince Alfred Pass, flowing along the northern side of the R340 road then it turns south. After crossing the N2 road, it flows into the Indian Ocean through the Keurbooms Estuary, located close to the coastal town of Plettenberg Bay.[1]

The Keurbooms River is approximately 85 km long with a catchment area of 1,080 km2. Its main tributary is the Bitou (Bietou).[2]

View from the Keurbooms River estuary near Plettenberg Bay

Ecology

The Keurbooms River marks the eastern limit of the area inhabited by the Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus), a South African fish species endemic to the Cape Floristic Region. It shares the same habitat as imported trouts and lives in an area between the Keurbooms and the Olifants River.[3] Although in South Africa this relatively delicate fish is only classified as near threatened, in Australia species of the same genus were driven to extinction by competing salmonids.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Keurbooms River – Hydrology and geohydrology". Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  2. ^ Gouritz WMA 16
  3. ^ "Biodiversity, Alien trout, and the So what attitude"
  4. ^ Albany Museum – Freshwater Ichthyology[permanent dead link]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Keurbooms River.
  • Keurbooms River Nature Reserve Complex Management Plan
  • Cape Galaxias (Galaxias zebratus)
  • Invasion biology
  • A preliminary assessment of the impact of alien rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on indigenous fishes of the upper Berg River, Western Cape Province, South Africa